The Dark of Night
by lou1013
Summary: Ch 1: What happens when Felicity sees the darkness inside of Oliver? Ch 2: What happens when Oliver sees the darkness in Felicity?
1. Chapter 1

**Sorry this is a little darker than my usual stuff but hope you enjoy anyway.**

The Dark of Night.

Felicity knew that something wasn't right with Oliver. It had been three months since he had returned from Lian Yu for the second time. She had (begrudgingly) become his executive assistant and he was trying to improve the reputation of his alter ego (whom he preferred be called Arrow, rather than the Hood) and things were going pretty good.

Over the past few months Felicity and Oliver had worked together closely. She was at his side each day, playing the part of his dutiful assistant. It wasn't as bad as she thought. In fact he had a whole other secretary who worked down the hall in a separate office who answered his calls, typed his letters and made his coffee. Felicity's job was to pretty much plan his meetings and advise him. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she was quite enjoying it.

At lunch-time they would sit on the plush couch in his office, their shoes off and feet on the coffee table, eating from take out boxes and talking. Not talking about work- just conversing and learning about each other. Diggle was often there but a lot of the time, it was just herself and Oliver.

They had started to relax around each other and even shared some personal things with each other. Like a few weeks ago Felicity let it slip that she made out with her (female) college roommate after too much tequila and that her friend was a great kisser. Oliver's mouth hung open at her accidental admission so he made her feel a little better by telling her that he once woke up wedged in a child's swing (with very little clothes on) after a night of drinking Tequila with Tommy. It took a worried phone call to Tommy and a hacksaw to dislodge him before the police could arrest him for loitering in a children's park. Felicity almost choked on her sushi as he told the story. He had a genuinely happy face on him when he told stories about Tommy, his hands waving enthusiastically in the air.

The only difference between their days and evenings was location and attire. Usually Felicity would change out of her more glamorous work dresses (her pay raise did help boost her wardrobe) into jeans or more comfortable looser dresses and flats. Oliver would change from his business suits to either his 'green' suit or his sweat-pants and nothing else. Felicity would try her best not to watch him train shirtless but she usually failed to hide the quick glances. Sometimes Oliver would ignore it, so as not to embarrass her. Other times he would give her a quick, knowing smile.

Then something changed. The case with Barton Mathis seemed to cast a cloud over Oliver. He was a serial killer and Felicity was to be used for bait. He was already in bad enough mood after Laurel trapped him but he was not at all happy that Felicity would have to be used to attract him. Felicity had told her it was her decision and that she had discussed the plan already with Officer Lance. His jaw tensed and he didn't speak but she could see his chest rise and falling more sharply and his eyes cast downwards. She knew he wasn't happy.

When she came back to their lair after Mathis had grabbed her (and got away), Oliver was fuming. He banged down the metal steps and threw his gear off quickly. His eyes were livid. When he turned and saw her sitting on the edge of the medical table, his anger softened some. His eyes rose to hers and he took a tentative step forward.

Diggle was cleaning up a wound on her neck. "All done. Shouldn't even scar."

"Thanks Dig," Felicity tried to say as upbeat as possible, a forced smile on her face.

"I'll just clean up and I'll take you home," Diggle said, rubbing his friend gently on the arm.

When Diggle walked towards the bathroom, Oliver approached Felicity cautiously. They had fought about her going out there tonight before she left and her eyes were avoiding his altogether. She played with the hem of her pink top.

When he was right in front of her his hand reached for her, but didn't quite touch her neck, where Diggle had placed a bandage. "Are you ok?"

"It's only a scratch. I think the bandage is a bit of an overkill but Dig insisted. And well he has the medical training so who am I to argue. But it's fine. I'm fine altogether." Felicity's voice was trembling, her eyes still downcast.

"Are you really ok?" Oliver asked. His hand hovered next to her cheek for a moment before he gently stroked her cheek with his thumb.

Felicity pursed her lips together and raised her eyes to meet Oliver's. "I can't wait to get out of these clothes. I swear I can smell that monster off my clothes." Tears started to prick at her eyes. Oliver didn't hesitate. He pulled her towards him and enveloped her in his arms. It took a few seconds but then he felt Felicity relax into his chest. She let out a long sigh and then wrapped her arms around his back. Her head fit snugly under his chin and he stroked her hair soothingly. Felicity pulled back slightly, only enough to look up towards Oliver. Her cheeks were moist and she sniffled slightly. She swallowed hard and was about to speak when Diggle returned.

"You ready to head…?" Diggle suddenly realized the intimacy of the scene in front of him and stopped midsentence.

Oliver pulled back quickly and Felicity dried her eyes on her sleeve. She hopped up off the table and said with as much chirpiness as she could muster, "Yup. All ready."

When Felicity had gathered her things and Diggle was leading her out of the lair, his hand reassuringly hovering over her lower back Oliver spoke. "Give me a text message later and let me know you're ok. Please."

Felicity looked back towards him and managed a half-smile. "Will do. Night."

For a few weeks after that incident, things slowly started to return to normal. Oliver was lightening up around her again and they were more at ease. But then something bad happened. Bad was probably not a strong enough adjective to describe the situation. Oliver had needed Felicity to come with him to an office building late one night. The building outwardly looked like it sold life assurance but it was actually a front for gun running. They had major firewalls on their computers and Oliver needed Felicity to be able to predict their next shipment.

The mission had gone down hill when a silent alarm was triggered and a mini army descended on the building. Oliver had managed to hide Felicity as much as possible and incapacitated about a dozen men. He tried not to kill if possible lately but this good intentions came back to bite him. One of the injured men fell to the floor, his leg bloodied and mangled. When he fell to the ground he saw Felicity crouched behind a desk. While Oliver was working on the last guard, the injured man reached for a fallen weapon and pointed it directly at Felicity. Her back was turned and she didn't see him aiming. But Oliver did. He was across the room though and his bow had been knocked to the ground. By the time he got to his bow, the guard had pulled the trigger. Oliver felt like it was in slow motion. He saw the man's finger tighten on the trigger. Then there was nothing. The weapon didn't fire. The man pulled at the trigger again and again before realizing it was jammed and banging it on the ground. Oliver didn't hesitate. He wasn't giving him another chance and planted an arrow in his back.

Oliver pulled Felicity roughly out from under the desk and made their escape. On the trip back a heavy silence hung between them. When Diggle had cleared them from the danger zone he asked how it went.

While Oliver pointedly continued looking out the window silently, Felicity spoke. "Ok I suppose. Could have been better but we got what we went in for."

Felicity noticed Oliver bristle. "Ok? Ok is not how it went." His voice was low and it sent a shiver through her in the same was she was sure it sent a shiver through his enemies. "He fired at your head but his gun jammed. You should be dead right now."

Bile rose in Felicity throat. "Oh. I didn't know," Felicity answered, her voice quivering slightly. The remainder of the journey was in silence. Oliver avoided her gaze at all cost.

When they returned to the lair, Oliver disappeared to clean himself up. He didn't speak a single word to either of them. Diggle offered Felicity a ride home but she said she had her car outside. "Will you be ok with Mr. Broody there?"

"I'll only stay a few minutes more to look at the data we retrieved. I'm pretty tired now." Felicity gave him an assuring smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Ok so. Get some sleep though."

"I will. Thanks."

Felicity sat in front of the computers, her legs pulled in under herself. She wasn't sure if was the temperature in there or the fact that she was almost killed but she was shivering. She didn't hear Oliver enter the room again.

"You should go," Oliver shot at her coldly.

"I'll head home in a minute," Felicity responded without looking back to him.

"No. I mean you should go altogether. I want you to leave."

Felicity slowly pulled her legs out from under her, her toes having gone numb and stumbled to her feet. Her shoes were abandoned somewhere under the desk and she didn't take the time to look for them. She turned to look at Oliver. He was staring frostily at her. "What do you mean Oliver?" Felicity was sure her voice was breaking slightly.

"I want you to leave and not to come back. You have helped us a lot Felicity," Oliver almost spat her name, "but you are a liability now and we don't need a liability."

Felicity felt that tickle in her eyes, the kind you get while trying not to cry. "Why are you saying these things Oliver?"

"Because it's true. I will move you back to the IT department tomorrow. You can keep the raise but I no longer need you to be my assistant."

"I don't care about the money. You know I don't care about that kind of thing," Felicity spat back at Oliver. She took a step closer to him and was suddenly acutely aware of how small she was next to him in her bare feet.

"You can tell people you quit as my assistant if you want but I don't need you for my day or my night job anymore. Thank you for your service." Oliver turned to move away as if he was done.

"Thank you for my service?" Felicity practically screamed at Oliver. "My service really? How about my loyalty? My discretion? How about the endless days and nights that I've worked with you to help make this city a better place."

Oliver's voice was lower now but no less cold. "And I thank you for that but I don't need you to help me. I can do this without you."

Felicity voice softened slightly as tears formed in the corners of her eyes. "You're just throwing me out. That's it? I've outlived my usefulness and I'm thrown out with the trash. Is that it?"

"Please don't make this any harder on yourself…"

Felicity cut him off. "Harder on myself? How dare you?" Felicity's tears were held back by the anger she was feeling right now. "At least look at me when you throw me away."

Felicity saw the tension building in his shoulders before he slowly turned to look at her once again. His eyes were filled with something she couldn't quite place. Was it anger? Despite the hurtful words he was saying to her, it pained her to see him like this. Oliver took a deep breath and his eyes cast downwards. "You need to leave now."

"Why? I don't understand where this is coming from. Is it because of the man back at that building? Because if it is, I'm fine. Look at me I'm ok."

Oliver's voice was angrier than she had ever heard. "But you should be dead. If that gun hadn't jammed, your brains would have been smeared all over the walls of that building and there would have been nothing I could have done."

Felicity was shocked by the tone of his voice. "I'm in dangerous situations all the time."

"Exactly. No more! You're done. You're done with this life and done with me. OK?" Felicity had never heard Oliver so angry. If she didn't know him so well, she would have been scared by the way he looked at her now.

"Don't I get to decide that?" Felicity begged.

"NO!" Oliver roared and took a step closer to her. He was now only inches from her but she was determined to hold her ground.

Felicity tried to extend a hand towards him but he flinched. "You can't be responsible…"

Felicity was cut off by his hands roughly catching her uppers arms. "I am dangerous. Being with me is dangerous. You cannot be with me."

Felicity whole body tensed in his grip. His fingers were tight around her arms. His eyes burned into hers. "This isn't you Oliver."

"No this is exactly me! Maybe you think you know the real me but you don't. I'm a killer. I'm dangerous. I am not a good person."

Tears started to flow down Felicity's cheeks and for a second she thought she saw his anger wane but then he shook his head slightly and pushed her back two steps so that her back was against the hard concrete wall. "You are a good…" her voice quivered.

"NO. I am not. Do you hear me? I am dangerous. I could do anything to you right now and you couldn't stop me." Oliver's voice sounded disembodied.

"You wouldn't hurt me," Felicity voice was weak, a sob escaping her throat.

"Would I not? You couldn't stop me if I wanted to hurt you." Oliver sounded like a man possessed.

"You wouldn't hurt me," Felicity repeated, her voice almost a squeak now.

Oliver's fingers dug further into her arms until it almost hurt. "I have hurt you time and time again." His grip loosed slightly. "I've hurt you enough."

Felicity tried to muster all the bravery she could. "I know what you're doing. You're trying to make me hate you so I'll leave but that's not going to happen. I know you. I trust you."

Oliver's eyes fell from hers but his hands didn't leave her arms. "You should hate me. You should run away as fast as you can. I will get you killed and I can't live without…" Oliver's voice was barely audible.

"I could never hate you Oliver." As if the sound of her saying his voice snapped him back to himself, he let go of her arms.

"You should. I have done nothing but bring terrible things upon you." Oliver's eyes were frozen on a spot on the floor.

"You have let me be part of this team that helps the people of this city. You have given real meaning to my life. And if that means that danger comes with it, so be it." When she finished her sentence she tentatively reached a hand out to rest against Oliver's chest. "I won't leave you. So get that out of your head right now."

"How do you know I wouldn't hurt you? Why do you trust me?" Oliver's eyes finally lifted to meet with Felicity's.

"I just know. I know the good spirit inside you that I think sometimes you don't even believe is in there."

And then something happened that Felicity didn't expect. Oliver fell on his two knees in front of her. It was as if all the anger had drained from him and he was unable to keep himself upright anymore. He put his two hands to his face and Felicity wasn't sure if he was crying. She placed a hand in his hair and stroked her hand over his head to soothe him. When he slumped back onto his heels, Felicity fell onto her knees in front of him. She waited for what seemed like several minutes but he didn't remove his hands from in front of his face. His shoulders sagged and his breathing raspy.

The tears were drying on Felicity's cheeks when she decided to lift a hand to his and gently tugged them down. What she saw looked like a broken man. She didn't think she had seen him like this since the night Tommy died and she hoped she would never see him like this again.

Felicity held his two hands on her laps. Oliver looked at their intertwined hands but couldn't look at her face. She could see that his eyes were red but more than that she could see that there was a dejected look in them. She barely heard him when he spoke. "I'm sorry."

Felicity broke one of her hands from his grasp and lifted it to his face. "Apology accepted."

Felicity stroked along his strong jaw-bone and felt the tension still within him. "You really are remarkable aren't you?" Oliver lifted his head to look at her. "How can I ever apologize enough…"

"I just said apology accepted. I know you were only saying those things to protect me. And I'm glad you care that much about my safety that you would force me away from you. But I'm not going anywhere. OK?"

A sound almost like a sob escaped Oliver's chest and Felicity leant her head down to rest on his shoulder. She wrapped her arms around him tightly and rubbed his back. Oliver ran his arms around her waist and held her close. After a while Felicity's legs began to feel numb and Oliver's breaths had slowed so she pulled back from his embrace slowly. "Thank you Felicity. I don't know what I'd ever do without you." The genuineness of his sentiment brought a small smile to her lips. They knew they would have a lot of talk about but for now they were contented to put this night behind them.

**I love would love it if you all reviewed.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I really don't know if this a follow up to Chapter 1 or another one shot but I'll let you guys decide if you review. Please leave comments- it really helps. This is really angsty and does have a bit of swearing so please avoid if it isn't your thing. Thanks.**

**All mistakes are mine as I write quickly and don't proofread well!**

The Dark Of Night: Chapter 2

Felicity was not having a good day. If she were honest she wasn't having a good week. Or even a good month for that matter. Today started off with her oversleeping. She had been up until 4am helping Oliver and Dig track down information on a spate of strange deaths in the Glades. Men had been found dead with blood coming from their eyes and an unidentified substance in their bloodstream.

Felicity never overslept. In fact with the work she has been doing with Oliver and Digg, she didn't sleep much at all any more. This morning she had obviously knocked off her alarm instead of hitting the snooze. Half way through her shower the water ran cold and she had to wash the shampoo out of her hair in icy water. She spilled coffee on herself before even leaving the apartment and had to run back to change her dress. She felt the sting on her skin the burning liquid had left.

Oliver wouldn't ever mind if she was late but today it was important she be on time for an imperative board meeting. All the board members would be present including Isabel.

When Felicity arrived at QC, somebody had parked in her reserved parking space. Usually there was a fight to get the good spots but Oliver had made sure Felicity always had her own spot- somewhere safe and well lit near the security cameras and easy access to the lift. Today however, someone had parked their very expensive looking Jaguar in her spot, completely ignoring her name plate. She had to drive around for ages looking for a spot and in the end she was forced to park on the street. Of course she didn't have enough change for the meter and had to run into a shop to buy some gum to get change and then had to charm the parking warden when she returned into not giving her a ticket. The young parking warden wasn't immune to Felicity's sweet smile and he let her off the hook. She put the maximum number of coins into the meter and then ran to the Executive Floor of QC towards the conference room, laden down with files.

When she arrived at the conference room she felt completely flustered. She saw all the big shareholders sitting around the table and when she caught a glance of herself in the reflection of one of the windows, she knew she looked as flustered as she felt. Oliver tried to give her a reassuring half smile through the window when he saw her approach but it did little to reduce her stress levels.

Felicity hoped she could quietly slip into the room to the vacant seat next to Oliver but when she opened the door it creaked loudly and Isabel stopped speaking in the middle of her obviously important speech and stared pointedly at Felicity. All the other board members turned to look at her and Isabel purposely waited for her to struggle to her seat with all her files before finishing what she was saying. Oliver half stood to help her but Felicity waved him away, not wanting to embarrass her boss in front of all the board members.

"As I was saying before I was interrupted…" Isabel continued, a venomous tone to her voice and proceeded with her speech on stock prices.

"You ok?" Oliver whispered, leaning close to Felicity's ear. She tried not to be affected by the feeling of his warm breath on the sensitive part of her ear.

"Yeah. Fine. Sorry I'm late." Felicity tried to prop files on the desk but pieces of paper kept slipping from the files onto the floor. Felicity leant under the table to retrieve them as Isabel directed a question at Oliver. Felicity came up too quickly and slammed her head on the underside of the heavy table interrupting Oliver's response.

Oliver gave her a concerned look as Felicity sat rubbing the new bump on her head. She gave him a shake of her head to indicate that he should ignore her clumsiness today and continue on with his response to the board. He was talking about next quarter predictions or something when she suddenly realized Oliver was looking at her for the report. Horror played across her face as she realized she didn't have that file with her.

"Sorry Mr. Queen. I'll just run and get that," Felicity apologized.

"Don't worry Ms. Smoak. There's no rush with it." Oliver was trying to be kind but it made her feel all the more foolish.

As she quickly exited the room she heard one of the board members (who looked like an obese walrus and didn't smell much better) snigger to his companion. "She may be a hot piece of tail but she's a pretty useless assistant." His equally repulsive companion replied like he was a rock star, "I'd still tap it though." She saw Oliver's eyes dart threateningly in their direction, even though she was sure he couldn't have heard them from where he sat.

As she raced down the hallway towards their office, she felt a cold sweat pool on her low back. She couldn't decide if it was the sting of the burn on her leg or the growing bump on her head that was worse or whether it was the sheer embarrassment of the meeting but she would have loved nothing more than to crawl into bed and not get back up until tomorrow.

The rest of the meeting passing tediously late into the morning and while Oliver hung back to talk to some of the board members, Felicity made a quiet retreat to her desk. As she was about to boot up her computer, she remembered that she had to get Oliver to sign a report today from human resources or she would get an ear-full from the head of HR. She knew she had left it with Oliver to sign the night before so she went into his office, sitting down on one of the chairs (to ease the ache from these stupid new shoes) and rifled through a bunch of papers.

A cold burst of air came down from the air conditioning unit above her head. She made a mental note to get the faulty unit fixed when all of a sudden her heart rate began to rise. A painful memory was threatening to break to the surface. It was because she remembered the cold air coming down on her neck the night the Count held her here less than a month ago. She was shivering in fear but the icy breeze did little to help the situation. Felicity's breathing accelerated and became shallower and her head began to feel a bit light. The air con blew her ponytail over the bare skin on her shoulders and she recalled vividly the sickening feel of the Count playing with her hair that night. She was so lost in the memory that she didn't hear Oliver and Digg enter the office.

"Felicity? Felicity! You ok?" Oliver was standing in front of her, a look of concern on his face. Felicity could feel a tightness in her stomach and the prickle of threatening tears. As Digg went to place a hand on her arm, she jumped up suddenly, papers falling to the floor.

"I'm fine," she lied. Felicity was bending down to collect the fallen files but she knew she wouldn't be able to hold back tears if her two boys were being so considerate with her. She jumped up suddenly, leaving the files fall again. "Sorry I just have to run to the bathroom. I'll tidy them in a few minutes. Just leave them," she shouted over her shoulder, somewhat more brashly than she intended.

Felicity locked the door behind her in the lady's room. She was glad of the plush executive toilets up on this floor. There was chair in front of the mirror. She often wondered did rich people all have seats in their bathrooms and for what real purpose other than not having to stand while doing their make-up. She sank into the velvet material and closed her eyes. Felicity tried to keep her breathing under control. She was so embarrassed that she nearly cried in front of Diggle and Oliver. She knew that they wouldn't be anything other than concerned about but she didn't want to come across as a weak women who needed to cry just because she was having a bad day.

Two days ago Barry had told her that he needed to leave Starling City and get back home. When his crime scene work was wrapped up, he took a few vacation days to spend with Felicity. They had only gone on a few dates but he made her feel special. He was kind and gentlemanly and looked at her like there was nobody else in the world. He made her feel beautiful and he loved how smart she was. He made her feel like she was somebody he could love. She let her mind stray one too many times thinking that she would love if Oliver looked at her like that but she realized that Oliver just wasn't that kind of person.

When Oliver had told her after their return from Russia that he couldn't be with someone he cared about, she briefly toyed with the idea that he was implying some feelings for her but she pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind. For one thing Oliver was not somebody who should be dating anyone right now and she didn't think that even if he could, he would want her. She knew he really cared about her. Killing the Count more than proved that. However she didn't think he ever felt romantically about her.

Barry had asked her to visit him when he went home but as hard as it was for her, she told him that she'd like to just remain friends. He looked heartbroken and she immediately thought maybe she should reconsider but her initial feelings were right. She couldn't really be dating anyone right now.

Felicity was having one of those days where her self-confidence was low. So low it was in her shoes. A few weeks ago at the Gala, she thought she saw something akin to jealousy in Oliver's eyes when he was watching her dance with Barry and it boosted her confidence. When he asked to cut in and started dancing with her, she felt something that she was desperately trying to suppress. It was those feelings again that made her feel like a teenager with a crush. The feel of his hard muscles pushed up against her body as they danced and the easy way he smiled at her as he looked into her eyes. Her illusion was shattered though when Laurel asked to cut in with Oliver. As Felicity walked away from Oliver across the dance floor, she realized how stupid she had been. Why would Oliver have feelings for her? He's probably still in love with gorgeous Laurel. It wasn't Laurel's fault and she hated herself for feeling bitter against Laurel. This woman wasn't her rival and had recently had a very hard time.

Felicity stood up from the chair and gave herself a mental pep talk in the mirror. 'You're just tired. Pull it together and get back to work. Everyone is allowed have their bad days.'

Oliver had a lunch meeting with his mother and advised Felicity to go out and get a bit of air to clear her head. He tenderly placed a hand on her shoulder and asked her for about the fiftieth time that day if she was ok before she collected her bag and left for lunch.

Oliver was right. It was a good idea to clear her head. It was freezing out and she pulled her scarf tightly around herself to keep warm. She loved these cold bright days. The festive decorations were up and people were happy shopping on their lunch breaks.

As she passed an artisan Deli near QC, she spotted something in the window. Oliver wasn't much of a drinker, especially as he tried to maintain absolute control as the Arrow. However he always like tasting different whiskeys from small distilleries. He told her he loved to taste ones he'd never heard off. They were hit and miss but why miss out on the great ones for the sake of trying a few bad ones. This bottle was caller 'Archer's choice' and she couldn't help herself buying it for him. She would give it to him this evening and maybe if he was in the mood, they could have a taste of it together. God knows she could do with a drink to wind down this evening.

Oliver was in meetings all afternoon. She looked through the glass occasionally to see his CEO mask steadily in place. She sent him an IM to see if he wanted coffee but he politely refused with a winking smiley face emoticon. He knew if was hard for her to swallow her pride and make him coffee!

At 6pm, she still hadn't managed to speak to Oliver all afternoon. She hoped his mother appreciated that role he had taken on in her absence. When she was released from prison, she still couldn't rejoin the company. Even if she was acquitted in court, she was still guilty in the eyes of a lot of shareholders.

Oliver's last meeting ended and Felicity was about to make her way to his office with her present for him when she heard the ping of the elevator. Dread rose in her as she spied the face of Isabel exiting. 'As if this day hasn't been bad enough,' she thought. Felicity's mouth held a tight line as she stared at the approaching woman.

Isabel was her usual pleasant self. "You look tired my dear. Not sleeping?" The tone of her voice did not convey any concern for Felicity's wellbeing.

"I just didn't sleep much last night," Felicity mumbled.

Isabel encroached a bit too much on Felicity's personal space and whispered bitterly, "Well if you can't handle being Oliver's EA and his whore, you should really give up one of those jobs. Why don't I give you tonight off?" Isabel's perfectly made up eyes narrowed as she cocked her head to the side and stared at Felicity.

Felicity was just about to respond when she was saved by Oliver coming out of his office. It was probably a good job he did or she did not know what expletive she would have let rip at Isabel. Isabel turned on her fake smile for Oliver and followed him into the office. Felicity's face felt like it was on fire so much so that she didn't notice Oliver walk back out towards her. Isabel was making herself comfortable on Oliver's couch.

"Why don't you go home? You look exhausted," Oliver said sincerely concerned sounding. "I don't need you to hang around for this meeting."

Acid rose in Felicity's throat as she replied as steadily as she could. "Okay. See you tomorrow." She left a slightly confused Oliver standing there watching her quickly grab her things and run.

Felicity sat at home that evening staring at the bottle of whiskey. She looked at it for the longest time and then decided she needed a drink. After a few glasses of it (she wasn't sure how many as she was drinking it from the bottle), she was getting more and more bitter. Her mother always told her people can get nasty on whiskey but she never really noticed herself before.

"Stupid Isabel with her model figure and lusty eyes!" It wasn't the fact the Oliver slept with somebody that upset her. He was a single attractive man and he owed her no explanation of his love life. But why her? It wasn't just because she was trying to take over the company and her name was on the List. She had convinced herself that it was convenient to distract Isabel while Diggle was in the Gulag. It was because Isabel showed a complete lack of respect for her. That's why she was mad at Oliver.

She hated that Oliver allowed this woman who demeaned her at every opportunity and talked down to her all the time into his bed. She knew what Isabel was implying as she left Oliver's room that night telling her she could have the night off. She had directly called her a whore tonight. She wanted to tell this all to Oliver and even took her phone out to ring him but what good would that do? It would just make her look like a jealous, immature girl.

After way too much whiskey, she decided she needed company. She didn't even need someone to talk to. Just noise and the sound of other people's voices. She grabbed her coat and walked to the nearest bar. She hadn't been in it before because she always thought it looked a bit seedy but in her inebriated state, she didn't care.

The bar was maybe half full, alot of men in suits as she lived near the business district. She sat on the bar stool with great effort. Was it always this difficult to climb on these freaking stools or was she just that drunk, she thought? She didn't care either way.

After a few more glasses of whiskey (she thought their measures were a bit mean though), she heard her phone ring. She fumbled in her bag to find it only to see Oliver's name appear on the screen. She always answered Oliver's calls but she decided to take a night off. After it rang a few more times, she decided he wasn't going to stop until she answered.

"Yes Oliver," she answered. She tried her best to not slur her speech.

"Felicity I need you to do a bit of research for me. Can you come to the foundry tonight? I know you're tired but I'd…"

"I'm sorry Mr. Queen but I'm having a night off." She definitely failed at not slurring that time.

A pause followed on Oliver's side. "Are you drunk Felicity?"

"I've been drinking but I'm not drunk. Sober as a judge. Well not this judge I knew back home because he was a raging alcoholic but… well I don't know what that saying means really."

"Are you ok?" Oliver interrupted.

"You don't need to keep asking me that. I'm absolutely fine."

"Where are you? I'll come get you."

"I told you I can't work tonight. I'm not at your beck and call all the time Oliver. I have a life too." Felicity was louder that she meant to be and noticed a few heads turn in the bar.

"I don't need you for work. That can wait. I just want to give you a lift home."

"I walked here and I can manage to walk home. I'm a big girl."

"This city isn't safe to walk around at night. I'm coming to get you."

"I'm hanging up Oliver. Goodnight." Felicity ended the phone-call. She sometimes wished for an old fashioned phone she could slam down in a temper.

Fortunately for Oliver, Felicity was inebriated enough to forget to turn off her GPS tracker. He jumped into the car and headed to the location on his screen.

As Felicity moped over her drink a bit longer, a man came to sit next to her. "Fight with the boyfriend?"

Felicity looked over at the man. Even though her vision was blurry, she noticed he wasn't a completely unattractive man. He motioned the bar man to get her another drink. Felicity's head was very hazy and she didn't think she should drink any more. She thought she felt the man's hand running up and down her leg but her arms felt heavy and her mouth dry. She didn't really know what the man was saying but felt he was a little too close for comfort. She thought she heard him say he'd walk her home then she heard a familiar and rather angry voice behind him.

"I suggest you take that hand off her or I'll break it off."

"Hey man. I'm not doing anything she didn't want me too. Why don't you find yourself another girl?"

"I don't want another woman. I want this one. She's so drunk right now I don't think she's really fit to consent to letting your paws on her."

The man must have heard the murderous tone in Oliver's voice as he retreated to the back of the bar.

"You scared off my new friend." This was all Felicity was able to manage to say as Oliver placed a glass of water in front of her. She hadn't even heard him order it.

"I highly doubt that man would ever be a friend of yours." Oliver handed her three small tablets.

"I don't do drugs thanks," Felicity sniggered, clearly delighted with her joke.

"They'll help the headache and settle your stomach. Remember I was a real playboy before being stranded on that island. I know how to sober up fast and get rid of a hangover." Oliver did not sound judgmental at the state his friend was in. "And when you finish that glass of water, go splash water on your face in the bathroom and drink this coffee and I'll walk you home."

"Don't be nice to me Queen. I don't need your pity." That statement would have had alot more punch if she didn't almost fall getting off the barstool.

"I don't pity you at all Felicity. If you're not back in two minutes I'm coming to get you. And if I see any of these men head in your direction, I'll break someone's jaw."

Despite how awful Felicity was feeling, a small smile came to her face. As she cleaned herself up in the bathroom, she kicked herself for having that last drink or two. 'It's a fine line between a happy buzz and feeling like shit,' she mused.

As Felicity neared the bar again, she heard Oliver finishing up a call with Diggle. He slid a cup of coffee along the bar towards her. He had a cup in front of him too. "It's got lots of sugar and milk in it too so it won't be too harsh on your stomach. Now drink this down and then we'll go."

Felicity sat in silence sipping her milky coffee. Whatever he had given her had made her head clear up very slightly. A tightness began to work its way up her chest. She felt like a bold child being caught drunk by their parents. Not that her parents ever caught her drunk. She was always the good girl. Why couldn't she just rebel the once?

When she finished her coffee, she saw Oliver hand the barman a wad of money and felt his hand firmly pulling her out of the bar. She staggered slightly on the step outside but the freezing cold air brought her to her senses. Oliver helped her into her coat. "It must be below freezing at least tonight," Oliver said.

"Why are you talking to me like you didn't just drag me from a dive where some letch was trying to take me home?"

"Well I'm glad you are sobering up enough to realize he was lecherous. And we've all been dragged from bars at some point in our lives!"

As the walked towards her apartment, she realized it was taking her a lot longer to walk home than it did to get to the bar earlier. Oliver patiently walked by her side, occasionally holding his hand up slightly to right Felicity when she swayed. Other than that he didn't say a thing. Felicity realized there must have been a small drift of snow earlier as there was a crunching underfoot as she walked. The streets were almost empty at this time on a weeknight and as they approached her building, Felicity began to feel the humiliation of Oliver seeing her like this. She wanted nothing more than to bury her head under her bedcovers and cry. She knew tomorrow she'd be back to her normal happy self but tonight she was allowed feel sorry for herself.

"You can just leave me here. I can see my building," Felicity tried.

"That's not happening Felicity," Oliver said, cupping his hand under her elbow. "It's icy and you're drunk and I'm going to get you at least up the steps of your building."

Felicity realized that whiskey really did do funny things with your mood as she felt antagonistic towards Oliver right now. "Yeah I am drunk. I'm not going to apologise for that."

"I wasn't asking you to apologise. You're allowed…"

"You don't need to tell me what I am and am not allowed to do." Felicity realized her voice was louder than intended. "I can do whatever I want. I can go back there and sleep with that man in the bar if I like." She didn't know why she saying these things. Whiskey had control of her tongue.

"Is that what you want?"

"Maybe it is," she lied. "You get to sleep with whomever you like. Why wouldn't I?" She saw the slightly shocked look on Oliver face but he took a deep breath and swallowed down a response. "Is it because you think that nobody would want to sleep with me?" Oh no- her brain really was not in control. "Boring IT nerd that comes second to gorgeous brunettes all the time."

"That's not true Felicity."

"What do you care anyway who I sleep with?" Felicity staggered slightly on the icy path but swatted away Oliver's hand when he went to help her.

"Of course I care. You're my friend." Oliver's voice was even with no hint of irritation at how irrational Felicity was being.

"Your friend? Really?" Felicity's tone was mocking.

"Of course you're my friend."

"Well I'm your overqualified assistant who has to listen to whispers every time I pass a group of QC workers. People who used to be friendly to me in the IT department avoid eye contact with me now because I know they send around venomous joke emails about me sleeping with the CEO. But I don't let it bother me usually. I know I got to where I am by being good at my job and not good at blow jobs as is suggested by the inscriptions on the bathroom wall on the twelve floor. I know I'm useful in my position in QC and I let those snickering idiots have their fun."

"I'm sorry Felicity about that. But you're also my friend," Oliver tried to reassure her.

"Well I know I'm the _Arrow's," _she whispered this bit, "personal researcher but usually that guy just barks orders down the phone at me…" Felicity knew deep down that he didn't always do that and that he usually apologized when he was too sharp with her.

"I'm sorry if I do that too. You know I appreciate everything you do." Oliver took a step closer to her.

"And then there's that bitch!" Felicity practically spat the last word. Oliver knew instantly who she was talking about. "It's none of my business who you sleep with no more than it's your business who I sleep with but her? Honestly. She tries to disrespect me at every opportunity. She treats me like shit. So are you saying it's ok to sleep with a woman who treats you _friend _like that?"

A long silence fell between them. Oliver looked down at the snow on his shoes and looked back at Felicity. There were tears in her eyes. He knew she would be so embarrassed to cry in front of him and he hated that it was him that was making her feel like this.

Oliver was about to speak but Felicity started, much quieter than before. "I give everything to you. My days. My nights. My weekends. I used to sleep like a baby but now my nights are filled with terror at all the things I've seen and done. But I never blame you. I chose this. I wanted to help and you're doing everything you can to make this city a better place but…" her voice faltered as a tear rolled down her cheek. "I'd just like for once that you recognize that I would give everything up for you not because you asked me too but because I thought you needed me to."

Oliver approached Felicity slowly, his hands coming up to grip her shoulders. Tears now freely flowed down her face. "I do need you. Every day I thank my lucky stars that I have you. And not just for my work. But for my sanity. You ground me and make me smile and since I've known you, you've chipped away the barrier of pain that I had erected. I can never thank you enough for what you do for me. And for what you have given up to help me."

Felicity looked up slowly at him. Oliver noticed she looked more sober than before but a small sob escaped her throat. Oliver didn't hesitate to pull her towards him. He hugged her tight against his chest and felt the gentle sobs escape her. "I'm sorry Oliver," Felicity murmured into him.

"Don't you dare apologise. If I wasn't so pig headed I would have noticed you needed a friend to talk to earlier today. In the dark of night things always seem worse. Apart from a killer headache, you'll be back to yourself tomorrow."

"Thank you Oliver."

Oliver pulled back slightly so that he could look her in the eye. She looked so fragile in his arms, her cheeks moist and puffy, biting her lower lip. "There is no need to thank me. That's what's friends are for. C'mon."

Oliver kept his arm around her shoulder and lead her up the steps to her apartment. When they were inside her apartment, Felicity's eyes already were drooping. She was still quite drunk and felt her feet could no longer hold her up. She flopped on the couch and her eyes began to fall closed. She could feel Oliver repositioning her slightly and draping a blanket over her. "I'll put the alarm on and lock the door after myself. See you tomorrow Felicity." Felicity couldn't be sure but she could swear she felt him place a soft kiss into her hair before leaving. As she drifted off, she knew things would be alright.


End file.
